New mortgages fell 1.4% in May
The number of property sales in Spain stood at 47,145 transactions in May, according to data released by the General Council of Notaries. This represents a year-on-year increase of 17.5% when compared to May in the previous year.
By type of housing, the sale of used property showed an annual increase of 20.4% while sales of new property increased by 6.5% year-on-year. The sale of single family homes showed an increase of 14.8% year-on-year.
Average Price
In terms of average prices, a square metre of property bought in May cost 1,318€, reflecting a slight increase of 0.3% year-on-year. This increase in the square metre of housing is due almost exclusively to the increase in the price of flats (+1.6%), as the square metre average for a single-family home fell by 3.5% year-on-year.
Property sales of other real-estate (non-housing) reached 11,712 transactions, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%. Of those sales, 42.6% correspond to land or lots. The average price per square metre of these transactions stood at 237€
Mortgages
The number of new mortgages approved in May was 29,412, representing a year-on-year fall of 1.4%. The average amount loaned was 155,482€, reflecting a fall of 5.9% year-on-year.
Mortgages loaned for a property purchase increased by 11% year-on-year (22,049 loans) in May. This was caused both by the increase in the number of loans for the purchase of housing (+11.7% year-on-year) and the increase in mortgages for the acquisition of other properties (+2.5% year-on-year). The average amount of loans given for the purchase of a home was 125,738€, reflecting a decrease of 2.6% year-on-year.
Construction loans showed a year-on-year contraction of 5.7%, down to 492 loans. The average amount of these loans was 397,622€, representing a year-on-year fall of 10.1%. The average amount of loans for the construction of a home fell by 26.6% to 255,165€ (399 operations).
The percentage of purchases of housing financed by a mortgage stood at 43.3%. Additionally, in this type of purchase with financing, the average loan amounted to 76.7% of the property value.
